Tunnel Rat

Chapter 196: End of a Cycle

They dreamed together, hurling across the skies. Volat-Repat accelerated to his maximum velocity, slicing through the thin air. Far below, the glow of the Infestation was visible. One village of 700 people, an elven enclave of 500, and dozens of small farms had been overrun and converted to mindless slaves of the creature from the outer dark. A thousand times that many would perish in the next month if the Infestation were not destroyed. A dark green ring surrounded the area as thousands of maple trees pushed inward to contain the Infestation and prevent the escape of any human or elven hosts. The virus needed a mind to infest, and the Maple Priests were only giving it their groves of normal trees, immune to the creature until it grew more powerful. Astraeus wished he could have warned them of what was going to happen, but he couldn't take a chance that they would value their sacred trees more than the people in the surrounding lands.

Astraeus had felt the call as soon as the lands of Sæhrímnir were infected. The great boar had sent a dozen of his finest sounders to war, not knowing he was feeding the foe. Now thousands of boars sang the song of the invader from beyond the stars. Sæhrímnir was there, charging mindlessly against the trees, shattering trunks and trying to break through the ring of maple trees. Astraeus hoped that the legends of the god of Bacon were true and that he would be reborn tomorrow. His death and the death of all below was coming, summoned by the forces Astraeus controlled.

The meteor was only 50 feet across, but that was enough. It came screaming from its orbit, propelled by the will of the god of stars. The kinetic energy put to shame the thunderbolts of Zeus as it hit. The intense heat vaporized everything within a half mile of the impact. The forests for five miles around were destroyed and knocked to the earth by the blast. Beyond that, another five miles of forests were instantly set aflame in a firestorm that would burn everything to ash. Vast as the area was, it was just enough to stop the infection.

Sæhrímnir rose the next day, but he was not happy. "It's going to be a lousy year for syrup and bacon.

They sat together, listening to the music of spheres and observing the stars, the planets, and the tiny bits of flotsam and jetsam that made up the dark space between worlds. Nothing moved in a way that violated the path of where it should be. No holes opened to the corrupted universe. No comets strangely altered course. The Rogue was not here. They would check again tomorrow, the next day, and the next.

A hazy double memory as Professor Tallsqueak the Starborn showed eager minds the secrets of runic theory. The students must be taught the truth of the universe through the language of mathematics. In hundreds of lecture halls for a thousand years, in Arcane Universities, Temples, and Towers, students learned the basics needed to manipulate the runes and create spells. It was an endless job, but one he enjoyed. And in every library, they searched for clues that the Rogue might have left, and signs of its passage. They found books with altered formations, forbidden knowledge of creation from before the System, and dangerous rituals for summoning the Starspawn.

Kepler Starsword, Hero for Hire, kicked in the oaken door with one immaculately polished boot. In front of him, 13 members of the Black Circle of Bloth were chanting their ritual. Cries of anger came from the assembled watchers, and a dozen kobold assassins drew knives. Using Lightstep and Jump over the Moon, Kepler leaped the hundred feet between himself and the circle of chanting cultists. His enchanted sword, Lightbringer, swung in a complete orbit, Kepler's Starborn Strength driving it through all resistance. 13 heads hit the ground simultaneously, ending the ritual.

The kobolds sheathed their weapons and applauded wildly. Kepler burned the books and searched the entire temple complex. The only clue was a note pinned to an oatmeal cookie in the kitchen.

"Too Late Again."

Milo awoke with no pain. The wound in his side was gone. Cichol dozed in his chair by the fire. Astraeus/KEPPLER was gone.

Congratulations! You have survived the Second Ritual of Enhancement: Additional Rib!

Your method of acquiring this bone was unique, and so were the benefits and responsibilities. You are gifted with knowledge and insight.

Runic Sight: It is easier for you to see the runes used to enchant objects or enhance living (or undead) creatures—the more powerful the runic formation, the more visible it is to you.

Runic Casting: You have gained the Skill: Rune Casting. This allows you to cast spells you have created with Runic Formations. Manipulating a single System rune is trivial to you. But a more complex spell will tax your Intelligence, Willpower, and Dexterity. Multiple appendages make this easier. Six hands are better than two. But you have another method...

Perk: Two hands and a tail are also better: Your tail may be used along with your hands to control a runic formation. +2 DEX

Advanced Rune Crafting: You may create Runic Formations, systems of interlocked runes to cast spells and create magical items.

These gifts do not come without a price. Seek the hidden one. The flaw in the equation. The false note in the symphony

Milo didn't mind being given another job. He'd already promised Hecate to look for the person behind the Code Mage. This just gave him more incentive and more tools to find them.

But first, he had to clean up the mess he had made by bleeding on the floor. Cichol had set out a mop for him.

Dwarves will be the first to tell you that they are the hardest working of all the races and the best at building underground, but the people of Limburger Hollow were showing the Engineers that they might have to work hard to keep in first place.

Gendifur had shown the plans she and Tallsqueak had drawn to Sledgemonkey. He'd made a few suggestions on his own, and then they had begun work on turning a portion of the outer cavern into a home. A dozen miners had shown up to help carve out the back wall, but Boom-Boom had declared he got to go first. He directed Two-Screws and Sledgemonkey where to drill into the rock and then inserted his charges. The first explosion brought half the Hollow to see what was happening, ensuring a large group of helping hands to clear the stone as fast as the miners and dwarves reduced the larger rocks. The second round of explosives brought a surprise in the form of unknown caverns.

The blast revealed a large cathedral with a thirty-foot ceiling and seven smaller caves that could be carved into rooms. A small tunnel only two-foot high led to even more caves. They left that alone for now, Gendifur declaring that the first set of rooms would do for now. That didn't stop several inquisitive children from taking lights and investigating further. They came back excited at being the first eyes to see glittering caverns with crystals and mushrooms. Gendifur allowed a compromise of installing a door to keep out unwanted visitors. (And curtail further exploration.)

The miners and stone carvers of the Hollow converted the extra rock into large bricks that cut off the front of the tunnels from the rest of the cavern. A large front door and areas for windows were left open. In front of the house, plans were made by Mistress Brownfur to place beds of herbs and mushrooms. The first part of the house, created from the end of the cave, was left undivided. The center of any household was a large room for cooking, eating, and crafting. Three of the natural caves were converted into sleeping areas, and two others to store rooms. The large cathedral would be a play area for small fiends that needed a lot of space to play games.

As fast as an Engineer needed a stone, a ratkin was putting it in place. Gnarl wood beams and paneling were brought from storage in the Hollow. Rock floors were smoothed, and steps were carved where needed. And more and more rock was removed to create walkways and doors appropriate for large Stoneclaw guards and growing Cheese Fiends. Every person in the Hollow came to contribute something to the new household. Rugs, pottery, pots and pans, and magical lighting were gifted. By the end of the first day, the house and family were taking shape. By the end of the second day, the workers moved to the other end of the cavern, where they began a similar project, carving out a set of rooms for visiting Engineers. Only three rooms were needed: One for sleeping, one for drinking, and a large workshop for projects. The dwarves declared they needed nothing else. The rat-kin rolled their eyes and carved out several more rooms, one of which Boom-Boom claimed as the 'honeymoon suite' and another was declared as a 'spider house.'

Larry was tired. The Pickle Gang had run off and hid, but Flowertown had other problems. A roving brownie horde had stolen Granny Mosskettle's cakes. The brownies claimed the cakes were lost and had wandered into their camp. Granny's cake did tend to sprout legs, so Larry had let the brownies keep two and returned the rest. Small footprints on the trail had been a clue. The Ferret Brothers posed as marriage counselors and convinced the younger posies to run off with wild dandelions. That had taken days to sort out, and by then, the Ferrets had disguised themselves as badgers and run off with all of the snacks for the weekly poker game.

One thing after another had kept the Hero of Flowertown busy. It was a very tired Larry finally crawled through the Tunnelmuggle Tunnel into Larry's House.

But something was wrong...all of Larry's best things were gone!

Larry's pillows were missing!

Larry's picture of Larry and Justin was missing!

Larry's Jellybeans were missing!

Larry saw the clue...the thieves had dropped a jellybean. And another...and another. Larry followed the trail. The thieves had a hole in their bag of stolen jellybeans, and now Larry would find them. Out of the Hollow and into the outer cave, he went. The clever thieves had made a new house. The door was shut! Larry only knew one way to get in. (Besides tearing reality, and he had promised not to do that until the other hole closed.)

Larry knocked. "Can Larry come in?"

Gendifur opened the door and hugged Larry. "Yes, Larry can come in. This is Larry's house now."

All of Larry's friends were there: Brutus and Justin and Tallsqueak and Rosie and Buttercup and Gendifur. Justin showed him the room where he, Larry, and Tallsqueak had beds.

The picture of Larry and Justin was pinned to the wall.